Unhairing-machine



C. R. AND R. C. MISCHKE.

UNH/neme MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2|, I9I8. 1,329,795.

4 SHEETS-SHEEI I.

Patented Feb. 3, 1920.

C. R. AND R, C. MISCHKE.

UNHAIRING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov 2l, 1918.

atented Feb. n, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

C. R. AND H. C. I/IISCHKE.

UNH/umm; MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. ZI, |918.

Pensed Feb 3, i920.

4 SHEEISSHEEI' MI//T/'I/ESSES MISCHKE.

UNHAHING MACHINE.

APPJCATION FILED N0v.21,191.

C. H, ANU R, C.

Patented Feb. 3, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

WITNESSL'S lUNITED STATES PATENT llillillll CHARLES REINHART MISC-IKEAND REINHARDT CHARLES MISCHKE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

UNHAIRINGVIACHINE.

Application led November 21, 1918.

"o all fio/wm t 'may concern:

lle it known that We, CHARLES ll. Misoniin and Reim-rimer CHAnLnsMIsouiir-i, both citizens of the United States, and residents oi theborough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, city and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Unhairing-Wlachines, otwhich the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to machines for unhairingr pelts or, in otherWords, lor removing the stift or water hairs from. the skins o'tfui-bearing anin'ials u'hereby the quality oi the iur and its value troma commercial stamlpoint is increased. The object of our invention is toprovide a machine of the indicated type in which the mechanism is eX-treinely simple in construction and arrangement and whereby the peltsare unhaired in an eilicient manner and Without mutila'- tion oi thepelt itself. Other more specic objects will appear from the descriptionhereinafter and the features of novelty will be pointed out in theappended claims.

lu the accompanyino,l drawings, which for illustrative and descriptivepurposes show an example of our invention, Figure l is a "frontelevation of the machine; Fig. 2 is a plan vlei'; Figs. 3 and s are sideelevations looking from opposite directions; Fig. 5 is sectional View onthe line 5-5 of' Fig. 2; Fig. G is a similar vier.1 showing` the partsin ditle'rent positions, and Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are enlarged detail viewsillustrating' various steps in the operation ot the machine.

lis shown in the illustrate-d example, the machine comprises a traine l5of suitable forni and oonstuction, and provided With bel rings 16 inwhich a power or main shaft l? is journaled. The latter is driven in anyconvenient manner' as by means of a pulley i8, which in practice, isconnected by means oit belt with a motor or other driving mechanism inthe customary i'nanner.

The shaft 17 carries a pair of cams 19 `which are duplicates of eachother, both as to t'orm and position upon said shaft; these camscoperate with rollers 2() carried by members 2l movable transversely tothe shalt 1 7 and provided with slots 22L through which said shaftextends and whereby the transverse movement of said members is renderedpossible. The members 21 are pivotally connected at 22 with levers 23pivoted at 24E to suitable portions of the Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Feb. 3, 1920.

Serial No. 263,497.

Y iframe l5; in the preferred arrangement the of canvas or othersuitable material, Which apron passes over the stretcher-bar 27, aroundidlers 232 journalen upon the plates 26 and over a roller 3B rotatablymounted upon rods or the like 3st preferably in amanner to be adjustablelengthwise thereoi'; the rods El are secured to and extend forwardlyfrom the 'trame l5 so that a considerable portion oit the apron 3l islocated in 'front ot the machine proper in an approximately horizontalposition, and provides an upper run readily accessible to the operatorfor the purposes of attaching one or more pelts in position thereon.

ln the operation of the machine to be fully described hereinafter, theapron Si is ted alongl intermittently in relatively short steps. whereby'the pelts are advanced and iinally ted over the stretcher-bar 27 toper-` mit the sti'tl' hairs to be out by the cuttingy mechanism whichwill also be iully described hereinafter. any suitable means may beprow/'idea` for bringing ab ut said intermittent feed ot the apron 3lfor instance as shown, one end of the shai't 2S may project beyond theone plate land carry a nearnvheel 36. This gear-Wheel 36 meshes with apinion 37 mounted upon a short shaft 3S which projects from and isjournaled upon the same plate 26, a second gear-Wheel 39 being alsosecured upon said shai't 3S; said feed mechanism includes a link 40pivotally mounted upon the shaft 38 in close proximity to the gear-Wheel 39 and pivotally connected at ll to one end or' a second link 4,2.The other end o? said second link l2 is pivotally connected at t3 eitherdirectly with a! suitable portion oi the frame 15,01 as shown, to a bar43 rigidly lixed upon said if une, for instance,

The

roller 29 accommodates an apron or belt 31 by ineans of a bolt del. Thelink 10 carries a paivl pivoted at Ll-G and operatively engaging thegear-Wheel 39, a suitable spring /l7 serving to maintain said paWl incontact with the teeth of said gear-Wheel 39. To prevent unintentionalreturn rotation of the latter, for instance7 during the time the paivld5 partakos of a nioveinent of recovery, a stop-pand 478 is provided,said stoppawvl being pivoted at 119 upon a lug,v 50 forming part of orfixed to the plate 26; a 31 serres maintain said stop-paul 18 in properengagement with the gear- Wheel'39. A pressure-bar 52 is located infront of the apron 31 in register with the stretcher-bar 27 and iscarried by arms 53 pivoted at oel to the plates 2G; coil springs eachhaving one end secured to an arm and the other end tastened to a member56 projectingl frein each plate 26, are provided for pressing saidpressure-bar 52 toward the apron or toward the pelt o r pelts 35 carriedthereby.

The inachine includes further a rotary brush 57 the bristles of whichpreferably are arranged in rows which extend spirally about Said brush57, the latter being inoinit-V ed upon a shaft 5S journaled in armscarried bythe frame 15, preferably so as to be readily removabletherefrom. lu order to provide for the adjustability of the brush and toproperly locate it with respect to the stretcher-bar 27, the arras o9inay be provided with slots G0 for the accommodation of bolts 61 wherebysaid arras are secured in an adjusted position upon said fraaie 15. Thebrush 57 may be rotatably actuated by means of any suitable `mechanism;for instance, as saown, the shaft 58 inay carry a sprocket-pinion S2Which is operatively connected, by ineans of a sprocket chain 63, with asprocket Wheel 64 carried by a shaft 65 adjustable in a slot 6 of theframe 15 any suitable means being provided for inaintaining the shaft inits adjusted position.. ln the illustrated example the sprocket vvh-cel6% is driven, and thus transmits inotion to the sprocket-pinion 62 andbrush o7, by means of a sprocket-pinion G7 mounted upon the shaft 65 andmeshing with a sprocket chain 68. The latter passes over an idlersprocket 69 journaled upon an arni 7() depending` frein the shaft 65 andadjustable therewitl the saine n'ieans whereby said shaft is secured inits adjusted position serving' also to fastenrsaid arni in place on theframe 15; the

sprocket-chain 68 passes also over a. sprocket- Wheel 71 secured uponthe main drivingshaft 17 and constituting` the active ineans wherebymotion is transmitted to the brush 57.

As shown in the illustrated example, the machine'includes a cutting:niechanisin coniprising a stationary knife 7 2, carried, for instance,by an inverted T-bar 73, which itself is mounted upon brackets 7iforming part of or secured to the frame 15. ln order to permit the knife7 to be adjusted to vai 'ous stationary positions, the bar 73 may beprovided With slots 75 for the accommodation of bolts 7 whereby said barand with it the knife are adjustably fastened upon said brackets Thecutting mechanism further coinprises an oscillating` or vibrating` knife77 arranged so as to inove in proper correlation to the knife 7 2 toeffect the cutting of the master hairs, as Will be inore fully explainedhereinafter. Tie vibrating` knife 77 is mounted in clamps 7 S in whichit is held by ineans of scrcvvs 79 the arrangenient being` such that theknife 77, in its operative position, is somewhat boned or curved in thedirection of its length to facilitate its cutting action in cooperationwith the knife The' clainps 78 are secured upon a rock-shaft 8O by meansof Setl screws 81, the shaft 8O being journaled in suitable bearingslocated on the fraine 15.

Any suitable n'ieans may ybe utilized imparting` a. rocking` nieve -.cntto the shaft S0 to vibrate or oscillate knife 77; for instance, asshown, an arni 33 is clamped upon the rock-shaft 8O and is pivotallyconnected at S-l with one end of a link 85, the other enfL of which issecured to or forms part of a ring 86 surrounding an eccentric 87loosely mounted upon the main shaft 17; if'desired, the arin 83 niay beprovided with a, plurality of apertures for the accommodation of thepivot Sil so that the vibratingknife 77 and its arc of travel may beproporly adjusted to varying conditions. ln order that the'eccentric S7niay be operatively coupled to the shaft 17 at Will, or when anactuation of the vibrating` knife '77 is desired, asuitable clutch isprovided. ln the niachine as illustratedA this clutch coinprises agrooved ring` 88 loosely mounted upon a bearing- 89 which is itselfslidablj,y mounted upon said sha-ft 17, the ring 8S being provided `withpin 90 arranged to be inoved into and out of a suitableopeningextending; versely through the eccentric 87. T he pin 90 is ofsuilicient length to project completely through the eccentric S7 into acorresponding opening in clutch ineinbcr 0 which i5 fast upon the shaft177 'l 1 the opening; iu the member @l describing a rotative pathwhereby it is periodically brouoht into renistr' With the oaenino of *o"v a the eccentric 87 during` the operation of the machine. Thus, whenthe clutch is thrown in, the pin 90 by extending' through the openipgofthe eccentric 87 into the opening or the ineniber 91, Will couple saideccentric 87 and the clutch member 91 altogether whereby said eccentricis caused to partake of the rotative nioveinent of the driving;` shaft17;

ln order to facilitate the manipulation of the clutch mechanism, a lever92 is provided, said'lever being pivoted at 93 upon a suitable part ofthe frame 15 and terminating in a fork 94 carrying pins 95 which extendinto said grooved ring 88. It will, of course, be understood that, wherea i continuous vibration of the knife 77 is desired during a givenoperation of the machine, the eccentric 87 may be fixed upon the shaft17, in which case the clutch mechanism or its equivalent may be omitted.

In operation power is applied to the pulley 18 through the medium of abelt and suitable driving mechanism, whereby the main sha-ft 17 isrotated and thus brings about a rotation of the cams 19. Through themedium of the rollers 20 the actuation of said cams 19 causes themembers 21 to move transversely of the shaft 17 and thus swings the arms23 upon the pivots" V2t. These movements ofthe arms 23 causes the plates26 and the stretcher-bar 27 and with them the roller 29, idlers 32 andapron 31, to be also alternately raised and lowered and at the same timecauses the gears 36 and 39, pinion 37, stop-pawl 18, link 40 and pawld5, to also partake of these movements. During the upward movement ofthe arms 23 andthe elements carried thereby and connected therewith, thelink 40 is swung toward the left in Fig. 3, through the medium of thelink i2 which is pivotally moved in an upward direction on the pivot 43,whereby the pawl 4:5 describes a movement of recovery relatively to thegear-wheel 39 which is held against movement in one Adirection by thestcp-pawl 48. During the downward movement of said arms, 23, andcoperating elements, which is brought about by gravity, or equivalentmeans as the cams 19 rotate, the link 42 swings downwardly on the pivotand swings the link l0 to the right in Fig. 3. This causes the pawl 45to rotate the gear-wheel 39 a distance approximately equal to one tooth,which movement is transmitted to the pinion 37 and gear 36 and thuscauses the spur roller 29 to be similarly actuated whereby the apron 31is intermit-a tently fed along in relatively small steps.

,In this manner the pelt or pelts 35 which have been previously attachedto said apron 31 in the well known way are' fed along and are graduallybrought over the stretcherbar 27 as shown for instance in Fig. 5.

At the same time, the described operation of the main shaft 17 alsobrings about a rotation of the brush 57, through the medium of thesprocket 71 `chain 68, `pinion 67, sprocket 64, chain 63 and pinion 62,as is clearly shown in Fig. t. o

In addition to the above, assuming `the clutch member 91 to be inoperative connection with the eccentric 87 through the medium of the pin90, the rock-shaft 8() will be actuated in its bearings by means of thearm 83 and link 85, which is operated by the eccentric 87. The describedmovement of the shaft 8O is transmitted to the vibratmg knife 77 andcauses the same to be oscillated back and forth into and out ofoooperative relation with the stationary knife 72. If the clutchmechanism is in its inoperative position, the movement of the mainshaft17 will have no effect upon the vibrating knife 77 which in this easeremains stationary until such time as the clutch mechanism is thrown inthrough the medium of the hand-lever 92. l

As the apron 31 is intermittently fed forward in the manner described,the pelt or pelts 35 therein will pass beneath the pressure bar 52 and,as before stated, will finally reach the stretcher-bar 27 and in thecontinued operation of the machine will be bent or folded over the sameas shown, for instance, in Fig. 7. Thus, when the stretcherbar 27,through the medium of the cams 19 and cooperating mechanism, is causedto travel upwardly in an are of a circle having the pivots 21 as acenter, the path of travel will carry the pelt or pelts 35 intoproximity to the rotating brush`57 in about the relation shown in Fig.7. As the machine continues to operate the pelt or pelts 35 will becarried along in contact with the rotating brush 57 in about the mannerindicated in Fig. 8; during this stage of the operation the action oftherbrush 57 causes the soft hairs or fur to ybe brushed down more orless flat, as indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 8.` the action Vof thebrush being faoilitated because of the arrangement of the bristlesinspiral circumferential rows. The path of travel of the stretcher-bar27 is such that the pelts are subjected to the brushing` effect of thebrush 57 for a suflicient length of time to cause the soft` hairs or furto remain in the flattened condition, said fur or hairs being relativelysoft and inelastic. The continued operation of the `mechanism finallycarries the stretcher-bar 27 and with it the pelts 35 beyond the brush57 ,as soon as this happens those master `or stiff hairs c located alongthe bend of the pelt in regir try with the stretcher-bar and which havebeen held down by said brush 57, springup into an upright positionbecause of their in here'nt stiiiness and elasticity. o After the peltshave been moved beyond the brush 57, as described, the continued path oftravel of the streteherbar 27 is such as to bring said pelts with themaster hairs a standing upright, into cooperative proximity to thestationary knife 72, as shown in Fig. 9; in this position the knife 72practically, rests upon the skin of theV pelt and thus protects thoseparts of the pelts which have not yet passed over the strctcher-bar aswell as that, part of the pelt which is folded over said bar, againstinjury from the cutting mechanism and at the same time brings thecutting edge of the knife 7 2 into position adjacent to the lowerportions of the stiff hairs a, as shown in Fig. 9.

The hand lever 92 is now actuated to couple the eccentric 87 to theclutch member 91 through the medium of the pin 90, thus causing anoscillation of the vibrating knife '77' and bringing its cutting' edgeinto cooperative relation with the cutting edge of the stationary knife72 whereby such master hairs ai Yas occupy upright positions along thebend orfold of the pelt or pelts 35 upon the stretcher-bar 27 areclipped or cut olf close to the skin of said pelt or pelts. It will, ofcourse, lbe apparent that the actuation of the lever 92 will benecessary only if the eccentric is not `coupled to the shaft 17 at thetime the cutting action of the mives is desired.l As illustrateddiagrammatically, the cutting of the master hairs a is such as to removepractically the entire hairs and is accomplished Without danger ofinjury to the skin of the pelt or to the soft fur.

As the. parts describe the various return movements, or in other wordsas the supportcomprising the arms 23 and plates 26 together with thestretcher-bar 27 carried thereby and connected parts moves downwardly,the pawl 45, by the action of the link 40 and link 4:2, will feed thegear-wheel 39 and, consequently, the roller 29, forward to a relativelyslight extent, thus advancing the apron 3l and bringing another portionof the pelt or ypelts 35 over the stretcher-bar 27 wnereupon theoperations previously described are repeated.

The feed `of the apron 3l is in short steps whereby every portionl ofthe pelt or pelts is successively brought over the stretcherbar 27 andpermitted to remain there long enough 4to insure the cutting o' of suchmajor or stiff hairs as may be present.

' `It will be seen, VYith our improved machine, that the pelt is movedin a circular path toward and away from the cutting mechanism and thatduring such travel it passes and is subjected to the action of therotary brush which, excepting for its rotative movement, is stationary;the fur or soft hair is, in this way, eiiiciently brushed down to fullyexpose the master hairs which have ample opportunity to spring up intoupright positions before the cutting mechanism is reached. Furthermore,the pelt or peltsr are efficiently fed during vthe movement away fromthe cutting mechanism,

i so that every portion thereof is successively positioned upon thestretcher-bar and all master hairs are exposed and brought to positionsin which they are efficiently out and removed During the return movementof the parts, the pelts again pass in contact with the brush whichthusserves to remove or brush away any cut or severed hairs which may clingrto thc fur.

'Vith our improved construction, the apron 8l is brought to a positionof ready accessibility to the operator so that the pelts may be attachedthereto with a minimum of effort, and furthermore may be made ofsuiiicient width to accomn'iodate two or more'pelts located alongside ofeach other.

Our machine is extremely simple in construction and elficient inoperation and requires lno particularly skilled attention; it is adaptedfor unhairing the skins of substantially all fur-bearing animals and isparticularly adapted for removing the master hairs from the pelisv ofmuskrat and similar animals.

Various Y changes inV the specific form shown and described may be madewithin the scope ofthe claims .vithoutV departing from the scope of ourinvention.

We claim K l. In an unhairing machine, the combination of cuttingmechanism, a stretcherbar movable in a circular path, an apron wherebythe pelt is fed over said stretcherbar, a rotating brush revolving abouta stationary axis and located at an intermediate point in the. pathdescribed by the pelt while on said stretcher-bar, and means for movingsaid stretcher-bar in said circular path to bring said pelt first intocontact with said brush, then beyond the same into cooperative relationwith said cutting mechanism.

ln an unhairing.machine, the combination of pivoted arms, astretcher-bar carried therebj'f, members pivotally connected with saidarms, cams whereby said members are actuated in the direction of theirlength to pivotally swing said arms and move said stretcher-bar in acircular path, an apron whereby the pelt is fed over the stretcherbar,cutting' mechanism at the one terminus of said circular path, a rotatingbrush revolving about a stationary axis and located at an intermediatepointV of said, circular path whereby the pelt is engaged by said brushin passing to the cuttingA mechanism and feed mechanism actuated duringthe return movement of said stretcher-bar away from said cutting'mechanism whereby said apron is advanced to feed said pelt over saidstretcher-bar.

3. An unhairing machine comprising a frame, a Vmain driving shaftjournaled thereon, a stationary knife, a rotatable brush, meansoperatively connected with said main shaft whereby said brush is rotatedabout a stationary axis, a supportpivoted lupon saidframe, astretcher-bar carried by said support and movable in a circular path, anapron whereby the pelt is passed over said stretcher-bar, cams carriedby said main shaft whereby said pivoted lil-3 support is pivotally swungto move Said Stretcher-bar in said circular path toward and away fromsaid stationary knife and to move said pelt beyond said brush intocooperative relation with said Stationary knife, the pelt contactingwith said brush in passing over said circular path to said knife, feedmechanism actuated during the movement of said stretcher-hai` away fromsaid stationary knife whereby said apron is advanced to feed said peltover said stretcher har, an oscillating knife eoperat lng with saidstationary knife to exert a 4cutting; action and means connected withsaid main shaft for actuating said oseillatl5 ing` knife.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set oui` hands.

CHARLES REINHARI MISCHKE. RElNHARDT CHARLES MISHKE. 'Vitness:

FRANK J. MILLS.

